Hair colour, as the late, great writer Nora Ephron famously pointed out, is a wonderfully empowering tool for pushing the clock back. "There's a reason why forty, fifty, and sixty doesn't look the way it used to and it's not because of feminism, or better living through exercise. It's because of hair dye," she wrote.

Fading into a world of grey hair and pastel shades as you grow older is no longer inevitable. It need not be that way. If you'd like to go grey, then great. However if not, you don't need to.

Having been born mousy brown, I agree with Ephron. I have been colouring my hair for years and see no reason to stop now. If you want to pay a lot in a salon, that's great, but home dye kits are great substitutes, very easy to use and cost about 10 per cent of what it costs to have your hair coloured by a professional. It's just one of many small steps you can take at home to make a difference to your appearance. You might even be surprised at how a few small tweaks can make you feel empowered.

ITN Makeup artist Leila Boyd advises steering away from heaps of powder on your face, which is very ageing (nobody wants the Miss Havisham look). "In terms of more mature skins, I always say you need less. I use tinted moisturisers, in tones which speak to your normal skin colour."

To avoid the dreaded 'feathering' of lipstick into those little lines around the lip area, Boyd advises substituting lipstick for lip pencils. "The much maligned pencil has come a long way since the awful things of the 1980s," she explains. "They are much softer and more flattering than many lipsticks and won't stray so much outside the lip area, which is a bonus."

Exercise is critical for a youthful face, explains Ruth Minoletti, CEO of Skincare International. "Exercise and massage both improve blood flow to the skin, which boosts oxygen levels and improves radiance." So having a facial once a month and exercising regularly - try a mixture of walking and gentle running, in short intervals, to get you started - really can make the years drop away.

Dame Joan Bakewell - a recognised champion of older people and former government Tsar - also believes that staying active can really keep you young. "I swear by fitness. I have done Pilates twice a week for the last twenty years. It makes your posture different and safeguards it from becoming stooped. Look at me - you can tell, can't you?" And if all else fails? "Smile a lot", says Rachel Johnson, writer and sister of London Mayor Boris. What could brighten your face more quickly than that?